Tennis notebook: Raonic rocketing in rankings

Milos Raonic of Canada will move into the top 50 of the ATP world rankings next week.

The meteoric rise of Milos Raonic continues.

After defeating American qualifer Robert Kendrick in Friday's quarterfinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships at The Racquet Club, the 20-year-old Canadian will move into the top 50 of the ATP World Tour rankings when they are released next week.

It's been an amazing ascent for Raonic, who began the year ranked 156th but has climbed rapidly following a run to the fourth round at the Australian Open and a win at last week's SAP Open in San Jose. He entered the RMKC ranked 59th and has advanced with impressive wins over No. 2 seed and world No. 9 Fernando Verdasco, 2009 RMKC runner-up Radek Stepanek and Kendrick.

The Serbian-born Raonic jumped from No. 84 in the world to No. 59 after winning last week's SAP Open. In the final he defeated Verdasco. He has three wins over top 10 players this year -- two against Verdasco and one against Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.

Although his size (6-5) would appear suited for a serve-and-volley game, Raonic said his strength is that of an all-court player, which he relied on during his successful start in 2011.

''I think I'm able to play aggressively, and play hard,'' he said. ''From a lot of different parts of the court, I'm able to do a lot of different things and change it up'' he said. ''I think it sort of helps me keep the other guy out of a rhythm and off balance most of the time.''

And he said his style helps him because ''there are a lot of guys who can run quicker than me and get to more balls than me.''

After winning each of his matches in San Jose in straight sets -- in addition to a walkover victory against Frenchman Gael Monfils in the semifinals -- his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Kendrick on Friday was his third three-set win in the RMKC.

''It's something that takes its toll, but it's something I can overcome and I don't think I'll have a problem overcoming it,'' he said. ''I worked a lot on the fitness, I put in a lot of hours and I think I'm doing all the right things I need to be doing after my matches to make sure my body is recovering as much as possible.''

Fish to miss Davis Cup

American Mardy Fish, who reached the semifinals with a straight-set victory Friday over Sam Querrey, was not named to the U.S. Davis Cup team announced by captain Jim Courier on Thursday. Courier, in his first year as captain, chose top-ranked American Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, John Isner and Mike and Bob Bryan, one of the world's top doubles teams.

Fish, at No. 17 the second-ranked American in the world on Davis Cup, told Courier he didn't know if he could be part of the team because of a recently detected thyroid condition that drained him of his energy. Since informing Courier, Fish has quickly recovered and said he has felt no lingering effects of the condition this week.

"It's a tough situation for everyone because everyone knows I want to play," Fish said. "I've put in a lot of work to be on the team.

"You don't get many chances to play Davis Cup, but we made the decision 10 or 14 days ago to not go. And 10 to 14 days ago, to be honest, I felt terrible. I didn't know how long it was going to be (to recover). But I've come a long way in a short time with my health. I've felt great this week."

Fish said Courier is "under the assumption" he has an eight-man team, which could possibly include Fish for the second round if the U.S. beats Chile in its opening round March 4-6 in Santiago.

Last year, Fish, 29, won two five-set singles matches against Colombia to help the U.S. return to the competition's top level, the World Group.

Facing the heat

Fish will have the unenviable task of battling Raonic in today's 11 a.m. semifinal, but Fish said he's had experience during his 11-year career facing opponents with overpowering serves and says his return game is one of his strengths.

"I've played some big servers in my career from (Ivo) Karlovic to (John) Isner to (Andy) Roddick to Joachim Johansson here in 2004. It's no different. You put your head down and try to make as many returns as you can and try not to get too discouraged. He's going to hit his aces, he's going to serve well. It's going to (tick) you off, but you can't show it. I'll be ready."